The future’s bright, says Town defender Maher
NIALL MAHER is convinced both he and FC Halifax Town are heading in the right direction after signing a new twoyear deal at The Shay.
The defender joined Town in 2018 under Jamie Fullarton and has been a first-team regular ever since, mainly playing in central midfield, but moving to his favoured defensive role midway through last season.
Maher says he rejected interest from Football League clubs to stay at Halifax, and is confident the club is on the up.
He said: “People think we might have overachieved last year, but I don’t see that. I see us as a club that should be up there, should be challenging because we are a big club. I think we’re a Football League club. We just had a few games where we didn’t turn up last year and they cost us.
“People say we should be a top-half team, and that would be a very good achievement.
“But you’ve got to go one better than we did last year, whether that’s winning the league, whether that’s finishing in the top three and going a bit further in the play-offs, I think that’s something we’ve got to set our eye on. If we all stick together I don’t see why we couldn’t push on and do the best we can.”
Maher said he had “no doubt” that he wanted to stay at Halifax, despite interest from elsewhere.
“There was no doubt. I had interest from the Football League but they weren’t what I was looking for,” he said.
“When a club that wants you and tells you their plans of where they see the club going, what they want to achieve then it’s a no-brainer for me.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here, I’ve felt wanted, I’ve proven my worth. There’s still more to come of me to show everyone.
“And the security of a twoyear deal was a big factor because I could’ve gone to a Football League club on a 12-month contract but in the last, uncertain year that we’ve had, it wasn’t really an option for me.
“I want to settle down, enjoy football, enjoy playing. This is a club where I’ve been enjoying playing, I’ve played a lot of football.”
Maher says manager Pete Wild and assistant boss Chris Millington were a big factor in his decision to stay at the club.
“I’ve had great contact with the gaffer and Milly throughout the year,” he said. “Milly and I have a lot of one-to-one chats on strategies, where he sees me playing, how he sees me playing. He wants to see me push on even further. He sees me as getting back to a Football League player again and taking my career to the next step again, which I fully believe I’m ready to do.
“Where they see me going, they see them going, they see the club going and it all just fell into place. It’s a journey that I want to be a part of.”
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